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Tal'rok Bonecrusher
Tal'rok "Tal" Bonecrusher is a half-orc paladin and one of the four heroes lost in time. Tal acts as the group's stalwart moral compass and unrelenting failure at stealth checks. Appearance Personality Tal tends to be level-headed and friendly, often sacrificing tactical advantage and material reward for the chance to do good. Though outwardly calm and patient, this was not always the case. Part of their training with Jago Proudfoot, their mentor, involved instructing Tal on how to manage their strong emotions through discipline and meditation. Believing in the innate good of others and protecting the meek and overlooked leaves Tal a bit of an idealistic perfectionist; that care for the overlooked and genuine perfectionism combined with the desire to prove themself and overcome any defeat at all costs perhaps led Tal to the Oath of Redemption. Early Life Growing up in a village where orcs and humans lived together in peace, Tal had a happy childhood. Their human mother was a highly respected missionary cleric, and their orc mother was the Chieftain of the Bonecrusher Orc tribe. Tal was loved by their parents and by the other villagers, but longed to further their training and become a great knight/protector and live up to the legacy of their parents. Tal left home at the age of 12 in the company of halfling monk Jago Proudfoot, who offered to continue their training. The Mirrorpoint Arc Tal took on their first quest through the Adventurer's Guild to continue training beyond what Jago Proudfoot could teach them. After a chance encounter with the sorceress pirate Badu, good ol' cleric Marty Cottonmouth, and deceptively innocent rogue Arcene, the four were tasked with ensuring the delivery of goods to the witch at Mirrorpoint Ridge. It was on this journey that Tal met the grief-struck Kenku bard, Plikpluk, with whom they formed a lasting friendship, and the murderous kobold Dran, whom Tal failed to execute. Tal would later meet Dran deep beneath Dragonsbeard, wounded and poisoned for his failure. Tal and River suggested letting the kobold live as a way to obtain more information about the tunnels that trapped them. After Veks' rescue, Tal would mediate between Veks, Badu, and Arcene, the latter two holding onto antidotes that could cure Dran; Tal made Dran (kinda) promise not to murder old women in the future, which Dran (kinda) obliged. Tal similarly tried to make peace with Taqtrekis, refusing his offer to join his cult after waking him up through a horrible stealth check in heavy armor. Taqtrekis, however, gave them an ultimatum: leave Plikpluk, Dran, and Veks to him, and the party could leave. Raising their polearm, Tal prepared for battle. Tal proved themselves adept at grappling in their attempts to subdue (and somewhat woo) Sydrin Havenwood, revealed to be a member of Taqtrekis' cult; however, it was at their imminent defeat that Plikpluk gained the courage to help his new friend. Granted a second wind, the group was able to knock Taqtrekis out of his tower, where he fell upon the remaining ruins of Dragonsbeard. At the last moment, Tal was able to save Sydrin from the same fate, tying her up (much to her disappointment and excitement) to one of the goats to face some sort of judgment at Mirrorpoint. It was with the defeat of the dragon cultist that Tal said farewell to Plikpluk, their paths diverging. The last Tal saw of Plipluk, he had handed them a scrap of paper with Alga's flourished handwriting: "Visit Nightingale." Exploring the Mossyards, Tal attempted to return a mimic child to its guardians and succeeded after fumbling the child a number of times. Here, Tal found a Rusted Greataxe among the trail of junk left in the wake of the Grizzled Mimic. When the ancient Mosskraken Bridge impeded the group's approach to Mirrorpoint, Tal would be the first to discover the writhing mass of plant matter deep in the ravine, known as the Mosskraken itself. Tal was the last to cross the collapsing bridge, aided in part by Badu's quick reflexes and the ingenuity of Marty and Arcene. Tal and the rest of their adventuring group were greeted by the witch of Mirrorpoint, Nadia Camaenil. In exchange for their service in detailing her arcane paintings, Nadia offered the adventurers a Tarot reading. Tal drew The Tempest: What you see is an hourglass. A stained glass storm predominates the upper half, segmented into glass shards that reflect a myriad of colorful figures: you see a spiked mace of light, a pick like a crow’s beak that strums a set of strings, and a wine glass. The lower half of the card is a vast path of shattered crystal that tapers toward the center of the card to meet the storm above. '' ''"Tal, are you perhaps a soldier or paladin? You are the Tempest. Most mistake the Tempest as a card of ruin and turmoil. But this turmoil is internal: the Tempest is a card of restraint, balance, self-discipline against instinct, impulse, and imprudence. A storm twists and perverts; but a tempest returns the world to its natural order. It is neither law nor chaos: it is both the act of the law upon chaos, and the chaos that constitutes the law. Be forewarned: some only know a storm by the ruin in its wake." In the painting, which detailed peace talks disguised as a masquerade in the kingdom of Val Chèvre, Tal met a young guard named Lillian who, uncomfortable in her decorative and stereotypically feminine armor, was instructed to stand out front and receive the noble guests. Tal offered her their boar-cloak, and in exchange, Lillian allowed the group to enter the masquerade. After Tal's death from losing The Stranger's game, Tal would find the painting had shifted to depict a bloodied Lillian placed on the Val Chèvre throne, with The Stranger kneeling before her. The Judgment Arc Relationships Trivia